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    Persons in The Matter of Ozaeta

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    Bug Rancher
    92 SCRA 1 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE USE OF THE FIRM NAME "OZAETA, ROMULO, DE LEON, MABANTA & REYES

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    Persons in The Matter of Ozaeta

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    Bug Rancher
    95 views2 pages
    92 SCRA 1 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE USE OF THE FIRM NAME "OZAETA, ROMULO, DE LEON, MABANTA & REYES

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    Persons In the matter of Ozaeta

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    92 SCRA 1 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE USE OF THE FIRM NAME "OZAETA, ROMULO, DE LEON, MABANTA & REYES

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    95 views2 pages

    Persons in The Matter of Ozaeta

    Uploaded by

    Bug Rancher
    92 SCRA 1 IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE USE OF THE FIRM NAME "OZAETA, ROMULO, DE LEON, MABANTA & REYES

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

     

    92 SCRA 1
    IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR AUTHORITY TO CONTINUE USE OF
    THE FIRM NAME "OZAETA, ROMULO, DE LEON, MABANTA & REYES."

    RICARDO J. ROMULO, BENJAMIN M. DE LEON, ROMAN MABANTA, JR., JOSE


    MA, REYES, JESUS S. J. SAYOC, EDUARDO DE LOS ANGELES, and JOSE F.
    BUENAVENTURA
    July 30, 1979

    Melencio-Herrera, J 

    Facts:

    The surviving partners of Atty. Herminio Ozaeta filed a petition praying that they be allowed to
    continue using, in the name of their firm, the names of their partner who passed away. One of the
    petitioners’ arguments stated that no local custom prohibits the continued use of a deceased
    partner’s name in a professional firm’s name in so far as Greater Manila Area is concerned. No
    custom exists which recognizes that the name of a law firm necessarily identifies the individual
    members of the firm. They also stated that the continued use of a deceased partner’s name in the
    firm name of law partnerships
    has been consistently allowed by U.S. Courts and is an accepted practice in the legal profession
    of most countries in the world.

    Issue:

    Whether or not the law firm “Ozaeta, Romulo, De Leon, Mabanta & Reyes” is allowed to sustain
    the name of their deceased partner, Atty. Herminio Ozaeta, in the name of their firm.

    Held: 

    No. Canon 33 of the Canons of Professional Ethics adopted by the American Bar Association
    stated the following: “The continued use of the name of a deceased or former partner when
    permissible by local custom is not unethical but care should be taken that no imposition or deception
    is practiced through this
    use.” No local custom permits or allows the continued use of a deceased or former partner’s
    name in the firm names of law partnerships. Firm names, under Philippine custom, identify the
    more active or senior partners in a firm. Firm names in the Philippines change and evolve when
    partners die, leave or a new one is added. It is questionable to add the new name of a partner and
    sustain the name of the deceased one since they have never been, technically, partners in the first
    place. When it comes to the arguments of
    the petitioners stating that U.S. Courts grant the continued use of the deceased partner’s name,
    this is so because in the U.S., it is a sanctioned custom as stated in the case of
      Mendelsohn v. Equitable Life Assurance Society (33 N.Y.S 2d 733). This does not apply in the
    Philippines. The petition filed herein is denied and petitioner is advised to drop the name
    “OZAETA” from the firm name.

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